Thursday, 13 April 2017

MINI EGG COOKIE CUPS | EASTER BAKING

So as promised here is another recipe just in time for the four day Easter weekend! My last recipe was for super gooey Creme Egg cupcakes and I did say in that post that I would be sharing a recipe for all you Mini Egg lovers out there. Mini Eggs are so moreish and there are hundreds of recipes on the internet of various baked goods revolving around them. I wanted to do something perhaps a little bit different... so here are my Mini Egg cookie cups! Okay I wanted them initially to be just cookies but the first batch turned out a little bit thicker than I intended them to be. But I kinda had the eureka moment and thought, well why can't they taste like the usual cookie dough but be thicker and more cakey? Am I making any sense? I hope so.So then I had to think of what else I wanted to add into the cookie cups... There was endless ideas but I really liked the sound of added a nutty flavour and the best combination? ALMONDS! Ahhh these cookie cups smelt DIVINE!! And again they proved to go down a treat... Here is the recipe and how to and I hope you enjoy them just as much as my family did...What you will need250g Unsalted butter120g Brown sugar300g Self raising flour150g Plain flour 1tsp Almond extract/paste125ml Whole milk (although Semi Skimmed would be okay)200g Almond flakes 275g Mini EggsBefore you start making and baking you will need to set your oven to 170 celsius! This recipe will also make 16/18 cookie cups!1. In a large bowl beat the butter until a smooth paste and then add the sugar. Continue beating together with an electric mix until both are combined well. Add the almond extract and stir in. 2. Weigh out the plain and self raising flour and add to the butter mixture. Using an electric mix continually mix until all is combined in a cookie dough like mixture. The mixture will be quite stiff so you may want to use a wooden spoon and manually combine the milk into the mixture instead of using an electric whisk. Place cling film over the top of the bowl and leave in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. 3. Next you're going to want to add in your almonds. Now for this step I took the dough out of the bowl and put on a floured surface and worked the almonds in myself. I did this by pressing down on the dough on the surface and sprinkling in some of the almonds and then folding the dough over. Continue until all almonds are evenly distributed through the dough.4. Take a standard cupcake baking tin (ensuring it is either non-stick or lightly buttered to avoid the cookie cup sticking once baked) and distribute your dough evenly among the holes. Once divided take a spoon and press down on the dough so it spreads out in the little hole. 5. Bake for 15 minutes on 170 celsius and carefully remove from the oven and push 3-4 Mini Eggs into the dough ensuring they are pushed well into the cookie cups. Place back into the oven for a further 5 minutes until your cookies are a nice golden brown. 6. Remove from oven and enjoy!What do you think? Is this something you would try? I would love to know if you have any other combination ideas for Mini Eggs, let me know in the comments below...